In less than a
month, Sony's PSP will finally be released in Australia (September 1st
2005) and impulsegamer had the pleasure of reviewing Archer Maclean's
Mercury that takes full advantage of the portable console with state of
the art graphics, gameplay and wi-fi. Archer Maclean's Mercury (now
known as Mercury for this review) is extremely reminiscent of Marble
Madness that had the gamer moving a marble around huge gaming
environments. In the same vein as this console classic, Mercury requires
the gamer to meticulously move a liquid metal ball (mercury) around
various gaming environments that include puzzles, arenas and mazes.

The catch behind Archer Maclean's Mercury is to move your liquid ball of
mercury from start to finish without falling victim to any of the ingame
obstacles. The gamer must also change the colour of their mercury in
order to pass through colour specific doors without loosing all your
mercury. The gaming environment also contains a variety of different
obstacles that the gamer must navigate through that include splitting
your mercury into smaller balls, moving the mercury through tunnels &
across perilous bridges and also avoiding enemies that survive on this
precious liquid metal.

Fortunately when you first play Mercury, it throws the gamer into a
tutorial that teaches you the basics behind the title such as
controlling your liquid ball of mercury, solving puzzles and how to use
the colour system of the game. As you slowly progress through the game,
the title gradually starts its upward climb of difficulty that will
result in frustration and victory.

The control system of Mercury is perfect for the PSP because gamers
control their liquid ball via the analog stick which gives you accurate
control of the gaming environment. It will take the average gamer an
hour or so to master with novice gamers taking a little longer to master
the control system of Mercury. With that said, the gameplay of Mercury
perfectly combines control, playability and graphics into this addictive
title that is full of puzzles, dangers and quite a bit of frustration,
especially when you see your liquid ball fall into the pits of hell.

Graphically, Mercury is a visual treat on the PSP and contains an
extremely ridiculous amount of detail and special effects that goes
hand-in-hand with the gameplay. The background environments are simply
quite phenomenal and range from icy wonderlands to fiery lands of molten
lava. The star of the graphics is the mercury itself that moves with a
real-world grace that almost looks like you are watching a real piece of
mercury as you navigate through the many different gaming environments.
The developers have also added a variety of different special effects
from realistic lighting effects and some beautiful reflective surfaces.

Musically, Mercury on the PSP features a rather dance orientated
soundtrack that actually suits the gameplay of this title and it should
also be noted that the music is ambient so it doesn't act as a
distraction but rather as a pleasant musical score that unwittingly
draws you into the world of Archer Maclean's Mercury. The audio on the
other hand is rather bland but what can you expect from a blob of
mercury than "bloop" and "doosh" but it does help keep the game
interactive.

In conclusion, Archer Maclean's Mercury is an addictive puzzle game that
features some extraordinary graphics, highly enjoyable gameplay and a
very pleasant soundtrack that will definitely make this game one of the
classics. I would recommend this title to anyone who enjoys a great
puzzle game or for those that have a long trip ahead of them because
this game will definitely keep you amused, frustrated and entertained.
Highly Recommended!